I know I'm in the minority but I don't like the black uniforms.Yep, Red, I felt that same way. I liked the uniforms and love the red helmets but those grey numbers were really hard to see at a distance. I felt sorry for the announcers (TV and Stadium) trying to read them but maybe it was better in person than on TV. I think if they went with a much lighter shade of grey for the numbers it would have made it easier to read them.
I am not a memorabilia guy but I do have a mini redbird helmet that I keep in my workspace. I hope they add a version of the red helmet for sale. I would buy one of those to balance out my admittedly meager collection of Redbird stuff. I will not even bring up a black jersey, they are still selling the #16 Kolbe jersey on the Alamo online store!
I don't know what the plan is but I can see those matte red helmets with the all-white road uniforms. I don't think the red on the helmets matches the home red uniforms but on the road, it would be a nice change from the all-white look. My fashion recommendation for today!
Dark Mode
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redbirds2000
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The black uni combos need to become the norm. Red top/black pants, Black top/ red pants, etc. There's enough combos between the red, black, and white uniforms and the white and red helmets to have a different appearance for every game. Should have made the numbers red instead of grey. Like it or not, the kids like the uniform mix up and it's a recruiting tool. Not too many teams are rolling out the same uniforms week in and week out.
It’s pretty neat to see some variations of the uniform. But I agree, our white in white or even white tops red pants (haven’t seen that in awhile) are preferred imho.
Manchester Matt
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Big fan of the white on white. Would enjoy them going with the red helmet with that combo. Not a huge fan of the all red.
Wow I wish Athletics Dept. Sold other Jersey #’s at the Alamo other than #1 or allow fans to order specific #’s. Guest wil NIL they don’t want to pay players any $ . Illinois give their players a set fee per Jersey sold ! I am sure just off players families Each player would have a minimum of 8 jersey sales.. Come On ISU make some money and promote and put some gas/food money in the player’s pockets
Bird Friend
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FWIW, every game/match this weekend with the Birds wearing black unis . . . we lost. Football, soccer, and volleyball (lost twice).
Maybe we should rethink the black uniforms.
My son and I were discussing that very topic earlier tonight - the Dark Mode theme was a total failure where it counts - on the field/court of play. Every team lost.
Virginia Redbird
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Uniforms don't lose games.
Yeah you can't blame the marketing department for any loss this weekend. Volleyball and football had huge crowds. That's what the market department is there to do. Get people to the game. They did that.
Bird Friend
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No, unis don’t lose games. But we didn’t execute while wearing the black. If it is at all psychological (like putting too much pressure on themselves), then ditch the black.
Our new OC waited too long to go tempo. He almost made the decision in the nick of time, but it should have happened much, much sooner, especially against a team that is very good against the run (as mentioned on the broadcast multiple times).
Speaking of the broadcast, Pegler has been around forever and he does a good job of laying out when necessary to let the plays breathe. His partner is the polar opposite. It feels like he talks to hear himself talk. He occasionally does have some very relevant things to say, but it gets lost in the amount of talking he's doing.
As for the uniforms, they looked sharp. Unfortunately our offense didn't for 3/4 of the game, and that had nothing to do with what they were wearing.
Speaking of the broadcast, Pegler has been around forever and he does a good job of laying out when necessary to let the plays breathe. His partner is the polar opposite. It feels like he talks to hear himself talk. He occasionally does have some very relevant things to say, but it gets lost in the amount of talking he's doing.
As for the uniforms, they looked sharp. Unfortunately our offense didn't for 3/4 of the game, and that had nothing to do with what they were wearing.
Manchester Matt
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Come on. You can't be serious. The funny thing is, as soon as I saw all three teams lost, I knew there'd be people like you doing this. Enough already!
Virginia Redbird
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Absolutely, I took a shot or two at the marketing of the Dark Mode but in the end, they did their job. I still think they could have gotten started a bit earlier but it came out okay in the end. Our teams did not play well enough to win. Simple as that.
Isn't this the most ISU thing of all time, though? The community and fans get excited about something new, and they show up just to see a loss? Anecdotally, it feels like this happens quite often across all sports.
I don't know who the color guy is on the TV side. I've never caught his name on the broadcast. However, it sounds like a younger guy fresh out of broadcast school. Listen to the way he talks about the game. He's not having a conversation with Kurt or the audience, he is very much imitating what he thinks he hears on Sundays. I sometimes don't really hear the words he's saying because I'm so caught off on his tone.
It's been said, but the TV broadcast leaves something to be desired through all phases. Commentary, camera work, graphics, etc.
MadBird
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I agree with your assessment of the color guy, but I think this is the guy, and he has quite a bit of experience, way more than I would have imagined. And has done a bang up job on his website, makes him look pretty decent. Peter Ferreri.
PeterFerreri
Home page of PeterFerreri. My name is Peter Ferreri, and am a Chicago based announcer, host & singer and everything in-between. Love having hosted radio shows to announcing high school to the pros in athletics.
peterferreri.com
Wow. Impressive site that provides interesting insight as to why he broadcasts the way he does. I watched a clip of him doing a soccer match and he was a one-man booth. If he is used to being alone throughout his career, it is sometimes tough to mesh well in a two-man booth, which would be why "It feels like he talks to hear himself talk." Right now, the football booth is two play-by-play guys.I agree with your assessment of the color guy, but I think this is the guy, and he has quite a bit of experience, way more than I would have imagined. And has done a bang up job on his website, makes him look pretty decent. Peter Ferreri.
PeterFerreri
Home page of PeterFerreri. My name is Peter Ferreri, and am a Chicago based announcer, host & singer and everything in-between. Love having hosted radio shows to announcing high school to the pros in athletics.
It's interesting that ISU/Learfield went the "for hire" route for the second person. I'm sure there is a former coach or player somewhat local that could provide solid color commentary.
DaveBird10
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I agree with your assessment of the color guy, but I think this is the guy, and he has quite a bit of experience, way more than I would have imagined. And has done a bang up job on his website, makes him look pretty decent. Peter Ferreri.
PeterFerreri
Home page of PeterFerreri. My name is Peter Ferreri, and am a Chicago based announcer, host & singer and everything in-between. Love having hosted radio shows to announcing high school to the pros in athletics.
I asked ISU about the color guy for the football booth and it sounds like they were in a pickle. ISU was told a few weeks before the start of the season that they guy they wanted was going to coach high school football and with that I guess the NCAA has a rule where if you coach any sport in high school you can't broadcast a college football game for the fear that said coach might try to recruit players to that college/university.
Bird Friend
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Actually . . . I am serious . . . mostly. Because I think it's a mental thing with the players. They feel the hype. They get their own hype and excitement, can't wait for the moment to start. Between the external buildup and the internal/personal expectations, they crumble under their own self-enforced pressure. Especially with teams that haven't proven themselves yet. My guess--and yes, it's a guess--is these teams felt they were expected to win and win big. And they couldn't handle the pressure. For football, it looked to me like it took Annexstad basically saying "screw it, I'm just gonna do what feels right in the moment" to get the offense going.
If this was Tre/Marshaun era, I think they kick ass. If it's James Robinson, I think he destroys the opposing linemen. If Leah Johnson was still the coach, volleyball dominates (and that is not a knock on Allie Matters, it's an acknowledgement that her team is still adapting). We don't have that mentality or confidence for any of the three teams that wore the black this year.
Now, do I really believe it was the black unis that lost those games? No.
But I believe the hype around the unis was more than any of these teams were ready for. I honestly think they play differently if they had just shown up in the black unis with no advance hype. Whether intentional or not, I believe the marketing built the "expectation" for easy wins. I know I certainly expected the Birds to win--even tho I really don't have any expectations game in and game out for this year's football or volleyball teams.
Next year. Wear the black again. Just don't tell anyone ahead of time. See how it goes.
fourthandshort
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Adunk .. not sure this is fair statement
Illinois State Three-Peats As Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Champion - Illinois State University Athletics
For the third-consecutive year, Illinois State has won the Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Championship, the league announced on Thursday. The Redbirds won
goredbirds.com
General 6/2/2022 2:00:00 PM Mike Williams
Illinois State Three-Peats As Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Champion
ST. LOUIS – For the third-consecutive year, Illinois State has won the Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Championship, the league announced on Thursday. The Redbirds won the league's All-Sports Trophy in 2018-19, 2020-21, and 2021-22 (the MVC did not award the trophy during the 2019-20 pandemic-shortened season).